A Slice of Poisoned Life
by Troydancing78
Summary: A series of short stories telling the lives of the survivors after Voldemort wins the war. AU
1. Appearing Weak

Appearing Weak

 _Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak._

Ron sat behind his desk as the students shuffled out of his classroom. He watched head bob and push one another out the door. All of them left except for Carlotta Bagger and her friends, who were lagging behind and twittering behind their hands. They reminded Ron of Pansy and her Slytherin lackeys back when he was at school. Ron already knew what they were talking about: the blood-traitor who taught History of Magic.

He had enough of this nonsense walking down the streets, he did not want to have to deal with petty schoolgirls and obnoxious rumors in his own classroom. He quickly cast a charm on them from behind his desk, amplifying the girls' voices.

"...when they were in school. Can you believe it?" Catie Cadbury had finished saying before realizing what had just happened. She turned to face Ron with wide eyes.

"Anything that will be said in this classroom will be for all to hear. If you're going to talk behind someone's back, might I suggest not being three steps away from them?" He said, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice. The girls hurried out and Ron finished packing his case and heading to the teacher's lounge to Floo home. On his way down the corridor, he peeked in on his colleague, Professor Padma Patil, who was also packing her bags.

He knocked on the doorframe and Padma peered up from the brim of her pale blue witch's hat, with her eyes like maple syrup.

"Oh hi. Just finishing up. Wait for me?" She asked. Padma had an odd habit of coloring her lips the strangest colors. Today her lips matched the color of her hat, popping off her dark face and drawing one's attention to her smile. Padma adjusted her hat, grabbed her horned-serpent skin bag and rushed out the door.

"If I remember correctly, yesterday your lips were red with white polka-dots. Decided it was time for a change, did you?"

"Periwinkle blue is a beautiful color Bilius. You are just jealous you couldn't pull off this color like I can."

"Really, because you look like you blew a unicorn." Padma squawked indignantly and gave him a punch on the shoulder.

"Merlin, that's disgusting." Padma snorted in a rather unladylike manner. "Besides, how do you know what that looks like?"

"First of all: how dare you." Ron chuckled.

"Do you have Carlotta Bagger by any chance?" Padma smirked.

"Yes, why?"

Padma mimicked, making her voice obnoxiously high and nasally,"'Merlin, Professor Brown was so rude. It's those blood-traitor sorts, like my mother always says. I cannot believe Professor Edgecomb hired him," Padma rolled her eyes. "Of course I paraphrased. What I heard was much more arrogant."

Ron chuckled. It was common for him to receive comments from 'concerned' parents and 'wary' students about his role as a teacher. Well, they were complaints about Bilius Brown. After Voldemort (Ron still shiver at the mention of the Dark Lord from his time spent in the Death Eater dungeons) had gained power, all blood-traitors were ordered to change their names, not being allowed to keep their identities as those who opposed the Death Eater's reign. Ron, of course, knew there were more people who treated him as a pariah because of their fear of punishment, but he still had to deal with people like Carlotta's and Catie's families who agreed with the ideas of the pureblood supremacists.

He bid Padma goodbye and Floo-ed to his home, greeted by small arms wrapped around his knees. Ron's seven-year-old son, Bard, looked up at him affectionately. Bard's older sister, Molly, ran down the steps to greet her father. Ron chuckled and kissed them both on the foreheads before announcing his arrival. Bounding up the stairs to the second floor, he knocked on the door of his third-oldest daughter. Helena turned from her scroll and smiled at her father, looking back at him with his eyes and her mother's blonde curls.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the mirror on the other side of the room which had been charmed to broadcast news changed from a reflective surface to an image of Riddle manor. A large, pitch black cloud loomed over the manor, streaked with glowing purple veins. The image opened on the infamous eldest Riddle children, Thomas and Delphini, standing proudly on the top marble steps leading to the Manor. The third child Merlin stood on the step below them. Ron stared at the image. They were horribly beautiful people. Godlike. Looking into the mirror, Ron saw the eyes which haunted his every waking hour.

Their glowing green eyes.

A voice echoed from the mirror: The high vampire of Europe, Lady Semele Sera of the Italian clan has arrived at Riddle Manor only hours ago. She, her second-in-command and six others including Lord Merlin Riddle's fiance Duilio Sangue will all be staying at the Manor until the wedding in May.

The clear, crisp voice droned on about the engagement and the vampires arriving, including the beta vampire Lucine Sangue and her son Rebelli Mendax. Ron turned to his daughter who was watching him intently. Ron knew he tended to get a far away look in his eyes whenever the Riddle children's images were broadcasted on the mirrors.

"Dad, just so you know, I don't think I want to go to Adelaide's party." Ron sat on the foot of her bed looking at Helena. Helena had so little friends it was surprising she was giving up an opportunity to spend time with some of them.

"Why not? Is it the other girls? Is it because of your mother and me?"

"Not exactly. See, Adelaide and all her friends adore Hesperos and the other Riddle boys. I don't want to be there to watch them fawn over mirror images and posters of them."

"Did you tell your mother?" Helena bit her lip.

"Mum said I should go. Said it would be good for me," Helena shrugged nonchalantly, but her shoulders were tense. "I'll go if you want me to. I just don't think I'll have anything to talk about." Ron nodded. Lavender's voice came through the door announcing dinner.

"We'd better get going or your siblings will eat it all before we're down the stairs." Helena smiled and put down her quill.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Seeing as I never finish a fanfic, I am making a much heavier effort to do this one. This is honestly not my worst or best work so I apologize for...well all of it. The story is going to be in little vignettes and have a rather thin plot line but its there.**

 **Thank you for reading this awful attempt at drama.**

 **Troy Dancing**


	2. How To Love

How To Love

 _They were taught how to love. They entered marriage with an earnest determination to grow a love that would sustain their marriage for a lifetime_

Beyond the town of Gnorneard, the home of the Browns, Riddle Manor was bustling with slaves and Death Eaters, only different by name, preparing for the ball being held in honor of the vampires coming to visit. The gardens were filled with poison roses, courtesy of the Riddle daughter Medea and her twisted love of her lethal lilies.

Up on the fourth floor behind large dark wood doors, Merlin was lying on his back on said witch's bed as she combed through her long thick black curls. Medea was already dressed in her ball robes, styled like a greek chiton with fabric like rushing river water. Her belt was a sash holding pouches of enchanted powder in case of emergencies and decorated with stones like glowing dragon scales. Merlin was dressed in obsidian robes with glowing violet veins running through it like marble.

"You poor baby," Dea teased as her turquoise comb through her curls a final time a before pinning up her hair with a crystal nightshade flower. "You have to marry a handsome vampire prince and rule over an entire country. How sad."

"I won't be ruling the country. Sangue will. I'm merely acting as a gift in exchange for their loyalty."

"So you'll be a trophy husband?" Dea looked up and stared at Merlin with an incredulous look. "Remind me again why this is such a bad thing?"

"Thomas gets the empire. Delphini gets an army. I'm third in line and I get shipped off to some foreign country."

"You get a mansion in Italy, a hot husband and tons of your own servants. Honestly Merlin. I get a fucking garden. And little Danny is probably getting a quill by the time he's 19."

"I don't even know this bloke."

"At least you know it's a bloke. I'm pretty sure our Lord is going to hand me off to a goblin. How does one even fuck a goblin."

"Goblins have genitals."

Medea responded in surprise. "They do? I always assumed they just shagged rocks using mind-magic." Merlin raised an eyebrow and shook his head. For such a bright girl she could be rather daft sometimes. A knock on the door echoed through the grand spacious bedroom. Dea opened it to one of those freckled ginger slaves. Merlin never bothered with names. It was something like Gred or Forge.

Dea regarded him with an annoyed expression. "Shoo. We're coming down right now."

Merlin followed his sister down the grand hall to the ballroom. Ball was in full swing by the time they'd gotten downstairs and to the Manor gardens. The moonlight acted as the main light source. Merlin saw his two older siblings, Delphini and Thomas by the Dark Lord's side, as obedient and stone-like as always. His younger brother Hesperos charming one of the Lestrange girls, Nyx. Abe was chatting with Severus Malfoy and Evie was laughing at something one of the Italian vampires was saying. The younger children were sitting at the Dark Lord's feet. Merlin remembered having to do so until he was eleven when he'd been allowed to roam free and talk to guests.

Merlin and Dea headed to their father's throne. Merlin went ahead of Dea as he was older.

"My Lord," Merlin looked up and saw his father nod to continue. "I thank you for the celebration in which I can continue to serve you even during a resting period," Dea repeated the same words, putting much more effort than Merlin had at sounding believable. The Dark Lord let them go and Merlin rushed off before Thomas could tear him a new one for being late to the ball, even by a minute. Dea pulled him aside and grabbed two crystal glasses from one of the waiters' trays.

"Two minutes until the parasite posy comes in. Time to drink to the death of a bachelor."

Merlin rolled his eyes, ignoring his un-Riddle like anxiousness. "Wow you're fun at parties."

"I'm merely taking advantage of the alcohol being distributed amongst us.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Again, I'm trying to get this out of the way so I have at least two chapters done. I will be posting the next two tomorrow as I haven't finished chapter five.**

 **Thank You and I'm sorry,**

 **Troy Dancing**


	3. The Common Men

The Common Men

 _More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions._

The noise in Fawkes' Head blended into a buzz in her ears. The red-wine haired girl sat at her bar stool with an emerald drink in her hand. The mirror at her side droned on about a slave who escaped some manor somewhere. She honestly couldn't care less.

The shattering of glass should have gotten her attention but it was probably Parvati dropping a glass by mistake. The bell swung loudly signaling the entrance of more patrons. She turned around quickly to check out the newcomers. Hopefully, they weren't Aurors who had been tipped off about a pureblood witch in the Muggles' Only eating area. Instead, it was a group of three Half-Blood men. If their soil-covered hands and plain robes were any indications.

She turned back to her drink, sighing. She knew what was coming next.

As she thought, the guys started eating a Muggle girl's food, smacking their lips on her tart and sipping her tea and critiquing her drink choices.

"C'mon, little mousey, are you really drinking this tea?"

"Hippogriff got your tongue?"

"Smile a little sweetie."

Black chipped nails tightened around her glass, her wine hair falling in front of her eyes. She knew what Theodore would say. Don't get involved. Stopping those idiots won't stop the million others who'll come after them. We can't attract any attention, it wouldn't be wise.

Well, she wasn't known for being a very wise girl. She swiveled in her chair, keeping her head down, and spoke rather loudly.

"Listen up you half-breeds. I suggest you leave before Mummy has to kick you out before you embarrass yourself."

The men snorted and whispered among themselves. She could only think of the other carbon copies of them harassing muggles around Europe. Watching other lights get blown out made them dangerously braver. The mirror droning on in the background wasn't any more helpful. But her partner would be here soon so she had some time to kill or, rather, boys to kill.

"Listen, you rat-" The poor lad never finished his sentence before the light of a Crucio curse struck him. She would have loved to let him scream longer but in the heat of the moment, before the other boys could pull out their wands, she found her fist connecting with one of their jaws and swinging a hex at another.

She spun to one of the waitresses at the bar, Katie, smirking.

"Can you just give me two bottles of Butterbeer?" Katie nodded wide eyed and pulled out two bottles from the bar. Grabbing the bottles and leaving money in a rush.

Later she found herself in a dark alley waiting for her partner.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you Astoria?" She spun around, deep-red colored hair stuck in strands to her face because of the rain.

"They were being complete prats. The inbreds," Astoria muttered before handing Theo a butterbeer. He smiled at her through brown almond-shaped eyes and thick black wind-blown hair.

"You got the shipment?"

"A little wart of a house elf by the name of Swinky got his hands on some pretty valuable shells," Theo whispered before prying off the cap of the beer with his teeth. Astoria wrapped her coat around her tighter, the biting cold freezing raw scars from dodging curses.

"Where are we sleeping tonight?" She asked as they made their way through the dark.

"Cold Iris."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I feel pretty good about this one.**

 **Troy Dancing**


End file.
